1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to services available via the use of mobile devices. More specifically, it relates to providing a permanent record, at the mobile device, of the service rendered.
2. Background Description
As the infrastructure for mobile access to the World Wide Web grows, the number of possible applications also proliferates. Acceptance of the mobile world wide Web also continues to grow, specifically in Japan and Europe. By September 2000, the NTT. DoCoMo I-mode service had over 15 million users. I-mode services, by September 2000, included banking, trade (credit card of, securities, insurance), travel services, ticket services (concerts, events, etc.), restaurant information, e-mail, news, games, and animated cartoons. The vision of personal services and e-commerce accessible via a mobile device is an exciting one.
The infrastructure in place as of 2000 uses either compact HTML (cHTML) or the wireless applications protocol (WAP) and its markup language WML. The NTT. DoCoMo I-mode service, with 21.7 million subscribers (which constitutes approximately 60% of the world wide wireless internet users), uses c-HTML and a packet switched internet protocol system besides a traditional circuit switched system (PDC—Personal Digital Cellular). (In circuit switched systems, after a connection is made, part of the network is dedicated to that connection. In packet switched networks, the information is divided into packets, sent through the network and reassembled at the receiving end; thus, the entire network is available to all connections.) In I-mode, the content (that is, the web sites of interest) is provided by service providers using HTTP, the standard web protocol, to a so called I-mode center. The I-mode center converts the HTTP protocol to the reduced protocol accepted by the phones thereby enabling the content to be delivered to the phone.
The other 39% of the wireless internet users use phones that utilize the wireless applications protocol (WAP). As of 2000, WAP enabled phones utilized the existing circuit switched network. The markup language for WAP is WML. Similar to HTML, WML is read and interpreted by a browser (a micro-browser) built into the WAP enabled device. In WAP enabled phones, when the user, via a micro-browser, requests a URL, the request for the URL is sent to a WAP gateway. The gateway connects to the Internet and serves an interface between the Internet service at a web server and the WAP-enabled phones. Some WAP gateways convert HTML documents into WML. In other cases, the web server containing the service (web pages) of interest provides the WML documents.
The applications envisioned for mobile devices range from obtaining event tickets and coupons to the so-called location based services. Location based services, tied to means of obtaining location information such as GPS, include getting directions to the nearest store or hotel, locating one's current position, obtaining traffic information, and receiving location-based advertising at the mobile device.
Some of these applications are already being offered. In Japan, the ALAN Corporation offers a service name Q-PHON in which a coupon with a bar-code is displayed on an I-mode phone and the consumer can use the coupon by presenting the phone. The bar-code serves as a means of validating the coupon. While this service is exciting, it also presents some of the shortcomings of the presently available services. As has been described, with over 100,000 registered subscribers, access to the service can be slow at times and patience is recommended. (“Barcoded L-Tickets and Coupons on i-mode”, Mobile Media Japan, http[COLON][SLASH][SLASH]www[DOT]mobilemediajapan[DOT]com[SLASH]newsdesk[SLASH]q-phon, May 7, 2001). This recommendation presents no consolation to a consumer attempting to enter the theater before the beginning of the first act. A hardcopy ticket which the consumer could obtain before the event would be desirable.
A different approach to the providing of tickets via the Internet is used by TicketMaster online ticketing service. Using that service, the consumer can order a ticket for an event and have the ticket mailed or retrieve the ticket at the “will-call” window. The convenience of purchasing a ticket just before the event or of not having to wait in a queue if the ticket is purchased several days before the event is not provided.
Location based services can presently provide maps, advertisement at the mobile device. The map, in the case of a location based service, is confined to the display in the mobile device, has to be viewed at the resolution of the display in the mobile device and an interruption of service will cause such a map to vanish. A hardcopy version of the map would not have those shortcomings.
However, some of the characteristics of mobile handheld devices such as smart phones, smart communicators, and mobile PDAs, present hardware challenges to providing hardcopy output for wireless world wide Web applications. The mobile devices have small memory, low-power CPUs and reduced operating systems. The use of printer drivers is not typical in these devices (most likely, due to the lack of memory space and due to the reduced operating system). In today's Web enabled mobile devices printing is achieved by using the printer as a data device. The printer is connected to the dataport of the mobile device and data is sent to the printer. The printer must have some of the capabilities of a modem, for example, an IP stack. In this method of operations, the image being printed will not be displayed in the display of the mobile device. Also in this method of operation, the mobile device has to switch from being a Web access device to being a data or voice device. Having to switch from being a Web access device to being a data or voice device presents a significant hurdle to the providing of hardcopy for web enabled services. The consumer is not provided with the opportunity to obtain a permanent record of the service rendered, such as tickets, coupons, and maps, at the mobile device.